• Approximately 30% of all online reviews are estimated to be fake
• Review fraud is responsible for around $300 billion of harm to US consumers
• Google blocked 240 million fake or policy-violating reviews in 2024

Fake reviews erode consumer trust in a local business. Whether it’s via Google, Amazon, Yelp, or Facebook, negative reviews could cause your local search ratings to suffer, costing you search visibility and putting you at a disadvantage against competitors. They also undermine your efforts to build a strong review profile, something that could have taken years to achieve. 

Public patience for these tactics has reached a breaking point, too. According to the most recent Local Consumer Review Survey:

• 97% of consumers believe businesses should face punishment for fake reviews.
• 57% of consumers believe businesses caught using fake reviews should be banned from review platforms entirely.

And now, fake reviews are not just unethical, but illegal too. The 2024 Federal Trade Commission’s Final Rule on Consumer Reviews made it illegal to create, buy, or manipulate fake reviews. It also gave the FTC the authority to impose significant fines on violators, making it more important than ever to understand how to spot fake reviews. 

What are fake reviews? 

When you think of fake reviews, you might picture a business owner writing a few harsh comments about their biggest competitor. But fake reviews are far more widespread and sophisticated than that. 

A fake review is any rating or comment that doesn’t reflect a real customer experience. They can unfairly boost a business or harm a competitor. There are several common methods used to create fake reviews:

Insider Reviews

Insider reviews are probably the most well-known type of fake reviews. They come from friends, family, or employees posting positive reviews to help a business look better or make a competitor look worse, even if they have not actually used the product or service. 

These reviews are more likely to come from a genuine desire to help a friend’s business succeed, rather than an attempt to actively damage a competitor. While these may seem less worrying than some of the big fake review networks, they are still illegal in the USA.

AI-generated Fake Reviews

The sharp rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has made it much easier for fake reviewers to churn out convincing reviews at scale. A study published in ScienceDirect highlights that AI-generated reviews are often less specific, exaggerated, use repetitive language, and show lower levels of empathy. Of course, using AI doesn’t automatically make a review fake, but it has made it far easier for fake reviewers to post en masse.

Review Extortion Scams

Review extortion scams happen when someone threatens to post negative reviews, or refuses to remove ones they’ve already written, unless a business pays them or provides free products.

These attacks often involve multiple fake one-star reviews appearing in a short period, sometimes including phone numbers or suspicious profiles. Businesses should never pay up and instead report the scam reviews to the platform.

How to report fake review extortion scams to Google

Learn How

Incentivised Reviews 

Some businesses offer gifts, discounts, or payment in exchange for positive reviews. While this doesn’t automatically mean a review is fake, it increases the risk of overly positive or misleading feedback. Asking for only positive reviews is against some review platform rules (including Yelp and Google). 

And guess what? It’s also now illegal in the US.

Fake Review Brokers

Fake review brokers (sometimes known as review farms) are organized networks that hire people or use bots to post fake reviews from multiple accounts.

While these services can temporarily boost visibility, they carry a high risk. Platforms like Google regularly detect and remove inauthentic reviews, and businesses associated with brokers may face account suspensions or even fines. 

Review Brushing Scams

In review brushing schemes, sellers send low-value products to random people to create “verified” purchases and leave five-star reviews using consumers’ real names and address data bought or found online, or through hijacked accounts. 

Which? found more than one million UK shoppers receiving items they never ordered on Amazon, only to see fake reviews linked to their names. This manipulation distorts product ratings and misleads consumers, undermining trust in online reviews. Amazon has stated that review brushing is prohibited and advises customers to contact customer service immediately if they receive unsolicited packages.

Review Bombing

Fake review campaigns, sometimes called review bombing, happen when people who haven’t used a business flood it with negative or prank reviews. These can be triggered by a news story, a social media trend, or an attempt to “cancel” someone. 

While they can feel overwhelming in number, they are usually easier to spot than genuine reviews and easier for review platforms to take down once reported.

Why Businesses Buy or Post Fake Reviews

Fake reviews usually have a clear goal. Some are posted by competitors trying to boost their own ratings or damage a rival. Others come from disgruntled customers, ex-employees, or even people with personal grudges. Occasionally, it’s done just for fun, especially if your business is well-known or goes viral.

Many businesses don’t write fake reviews themselves. Instead, they hire third-party services or use social media groups where users post reviews for a fee. Buying and selling reviews is now big business, with Amazon launching legal action targeting more than 11,000 websites selling fake reviews.

Understanding how to spot fake reviews is essential. Fake reviews can mislead customers, damage your reputation, and even affect local SEO rankings. 

How to Spot Fake Reviews

With bad actors getting ever more inventive when churning out fake reviews, it pays to know what a fake review really looks like. As a small business owner, being able to identify malicious or phony feedback is the first step to removing fake reviews. 

1. Look for clusters of reviews posted simultaneously

Multiple reviews appearing at the same time could be a sign that something is amiss. If the timing for several reviews matches, it may be that the business has purchased feedback, paid for five-star listings, or offered incentives such as cash or free products to customers in exchange for their rating.

If you’re a local business that has been subjected to a series of poor reviews in quick succession, checking if the time of the submissions is roughly the same could be an indication that they are fake. If that’s the case, it may be that a competitor is trying to drive down your star ratings. 

2. Be wary of over-the-top descriptions

Receiving complimentary feedback about your business, your team, and your services is a bonus of being proactive about building your review profile. 

However, comments that seem incredibly over-the-top, enthusiastic, and effusive could be suspicious. If the language seems to be very exaggerated in its praise, it may be that the reviewer isn’t genuine. 

According to research conducted by MIT, deceptive reviews (those submitted by consumers who actually haven’t made a purchase from the business being reviewed) have a tendency to use repeated exclamation points such as ‘!!’ and ‘!!!’ in the text of the review.

3. Look for specific details

A lack of detail and specific information also gives food for thought when it comes to deciding if a rating is genuine or not. While most of us will admit to leaving just a star rating and perhaps a word or two when we’re pushed for time, a lack of detail can also indicate the person writing the review doesn’t have first-hand experience with that product or service. 

4. Be alert for words such as refund or discount

Another warning sign that a competitor could be manipulating their review profile to artificially boost their local business is the use of words suggesting monetary payment or free products. Be alert for words such as gift code, voucher, discount, and refund, which may suggest that the reviewer has been paid or coerced into leaving a positive rating.

Incentivizing reviews is against most platform guidelines. 

5. Look for very similar reviews

If a local business has several reviews, but many of them are worded in much the same way, it’s likely you’re looking at a series of fakes. Genuine customers sharing their genuine experience of a business will naturally write in different ways, and use different styles of language and varied vocabulary. Fake reviews are often created and posted in bulk, so they are little more than duplicates. 

6. Check for unnatural writing styles

Fake reviews often stand out through how they’re written. Watch for all-caps titles, poor grammar, or repetitive phrases like “the best” or “highly recommended.” These can signal a review written for algorithms, not people.

Reviews overloaded with photos or videos can also raise suspicion. Research from Which? found that incentivized reviewers are often asked to include photos and videos. Finally, check the reviewer’s profile. No profile picture, little activity, or a pattern of similar glowing reviews can all hint at fakes.

Spotting Fake Reviews on Google

Google reviews are one of your most valuable online assets as a local business. Not only is it known to be a local SEO ranking factor, but it also directly impacts consumer decision-making.

Knowing how to spot a fake Google review can therefore help your business to weed out unscrupulous feedback and protect your online reputation. 

1. Check the reviewer’s Google profile

New accounts are often created just to post fake reviews, so they’ll usually have only one or two ratings to their name. You’ll see the number of Google reviews they have posted displayed as a number under the account holder’s username. 

2. Examine the reviewer’s activity

As well as seeing the number of reviews a user has posted, you can also see the reviews themselves. 

Check if the places reviewed are within the same local area. If most places are in entirely different locations, such as different states on the other side of the country, they may not be genuine. 

3. Inspect the images

Sometimes fake reviewers are asked to include images to make their feedback look real. If the photos don’t seem related to your business or look out of place, that’s a strong clue the review isn’t genuine.

4. Look at timings

From the user profile, you can also check the frequency of review postings. Has the reviewer posted clusters of reviews at the same time, or are they sporadic? A flurry of reviews posted at the same time suggests that the reviews may be fake. 

5. Cross-reference with your sales logs

Compare your sales logs with the name of the person leaving the review to determine if they are a genuine customer. You don’t have to be a customer to review a business, but if you have lots of new fake reviews from people you’ve never heard of, this could be a fake review attack. 

6. Look at the reviewer’s profile picture

Fake reviewers often won’t share too much personal information on the profiles they create. Along with other red flags, the lack of a profile picture raises suspicions. Likewise, very generic or cartoon images can also indicate that the reviewer is attempting to hide who they are. However, it’s not required to add a profile picture, so many reviewers may have chosen not to upload one. 

7. Review the details carefully

Real reviews usually include accurate details about the experience. Check if team members or services are mentioned correctly, or if the review refers to things you don’t offer. Inaccuracies are a tell-tale sign that the review has been created by someone without first-hand experience of your business.

How to Spot Fake Facebook Reviews

Facebook remains one of the most important platforms for local businesses. Knowing how to spot fake Facebook reviews is essential for protecting your business and maintaining trust with your audience.

1. Look for vague text

Genuine reviewers will often pick out specific aspects of their experience, whether good or bad, to explain why they recommend (or do not) that business. Very brief, vague comments can be one clue that the recommendation is fake. 

2. Watch out for over-the-top compliments

Excessive superlatives or language that feels exaggerated often indicate a review was written to artificially boost ratings. Descriptions that sound too good to be true are a tell-tale sign that you’re looking at a fake review. 

3. Check the reviewer’s profile picture

Much like with Google reviews, the lack of a profile picture or the use of a cartoon image instead is another warning sign that the reviewer isn’t genuine. Facebook reviews are tied to the reviewer’s Facebook account, so it’s much more likely to be a profile picture of a real person. 

4. Explore the friends list

Clicking on the reviewer’s profile picture will take you to the profile page. How many friends are on their friends list? If the profile doesn’t have any Facebook friends, or only very few, you have another indication that the review is fake. 

Spotting Fake Reviews in Specific Industries

While all consumer reviews matter, in some industries, being able to trust the content of a review is even more important. For professions such as lawyers, healthcare workers, real estate brokers, and so on, dishonest reviews could have serious consequences, including financial loss. 

How to Spot Fake Hotel Reviews

Hotels rely heavily on reviews to attract guests, but not all ratings are genuine. Be cautious of all five-star reviews, as even top properties will have a mix of ratings. Check the most recent reviews to see what guests are actually experiencing, and look for comments that differ sharply from the general consensus. Comparing reviews across multiple platforms can help spot inconsistencies.

Suspicious reviews can be reported to TripAdvisor. Hallmarks of fake reviews include a large number of five-star reviews from users who have only submitted one review, and reviews from lots of users who haven’t reviewed other locations. Buying reviews, offering incentives for reviews, or posting reviews for your own business are all against TripAdvisor review policies.

How to Spot Fake Reviews in Real Estate

With intense competition and huge commissions at stake, it’s no secret that real estate can be a cutthroat business. If you suspect a competitor may be inflating their profiles with fake reviews, watch the language closely. Reviews filled with acronyms or excessive industry jargon can be suspicious.

Check whether the review mentions the property, as genuine reviewers usually reference the home they bought or rented. Also, look for honest feedback about challenges or delays. Buying a house is seldom straightforward. If every review claims the process went perfectly, it could indicate fake or incentivized reviews.

How to do local SEO for real estate

Learn More

How to Spot Fake Reviews for Healthcare Professionals

Fake reviews are especially concerning in the healthcare industry, where patient health could be put at risk by unscrupulous rivals. The description of the service should be realistic and match the actual care provided. It’s unlikely that anyone will wax lyrical about teeth cleaning at the dentist, so a review that is extremely complimentary should raise a red flag.

Reviews that repeatedly mention other healthcare providers may indicate that the reviewer has been paid to paint the rival in a bad light. Likewise, reviews that mention certain branded products multiple times should be treated with a degree of suspicion. 

What to Do When You Spot Fake Reviews

So, you know how to spot a fake review, but what steps should you take next to ensure your rivals aren’t gaining an unfair advantage? 

Each platform has its own specific procedure that you’ll need to follow if you suspect a review is fake, whether that’s a review that impacts your own profile or is benefiting a competitor.

1. Respond Professionally 

Before reporting a review, consider replying calmly and courteously. Even if the review is fake, a measured response demonstrates that you take feedback seriously. This is especially important on platforms like Google, where removal can take time. Use clear, professional language to address the concern without getting emotional. Don’t be afraid to (politely!) say you’re reporting the review as you don’t believe it’s real, so readers know to take it with a pinch of salt.

If you’re monitoring your reviews using a tool like BrightLocal, you should be able to both spot them quickly and respond instantly. 

Helpful review response templates

Start Responding

2. Report the Review 

Report the review through the review platform’s official tools. Sometimes reports aren’t removed immediately, so be prepared to appeal and submit supporting details, such as incorrect references or suspicious reviewer activity. Proper documentation strengthens your case.

3. Get More Real Reviews

The best way to protect your reputation is by getting more reviews. Encourage happy customers to share their experiences naturally and often. A stream of authentic reviews balances out any misleading ratings and shows future customers that your business consistently delivers great service. 

The Consequences of Fake Reviews 

With reviews playing a significant role in both sales and SEO, fake reviews are becoming increasingly common, but the risks are also growing. This raises several issues for businesses and consumers alike, with consumers increasingly likely to be faced with fake reviews and businesses increasingly being placed at a disadvantage if they don’t join unscrupulous competitors in buying or faking reviews to win visibility.

However, there is a concerted effort to crack down on fake reviews, so any investment in fake reviews is likely to backfire sooner rather than later. Fake reviews come with serious risks for any business. 

As well, penalties are immediate and visible across different review platforms. Yelp maintains a Wall of Shame highlighting companies caught offering or paying for fake reviews, warning potential customers of dishonest practices. Google takes action too, putting accounts in “review jail,” which can block new reviews from being shown, as well as showing a “suspected fake reviews” label on your Google Business Profile. 

Posting a fake review might seem harmless or even helpful, but it’s never worth it. The risks are real, and the fallout can hit your business hard. Do the right thing: keep things authentic, grow your reputation naturally, and stay in control of your story online.

While both fake positive and negative reviews are illegal and good for no one in the long term, the growth of this dubious tactic is quite enlightening. Despite the fact that Google and new AI-powered tools can identify fake reviews, huge amounts of time, energy, and resources are being poured into fake review spamming, indicating just how valuable it can be to have a decent number of reviews—47% of consumers now say they won’t use a business with fewer than 20 reviews.

The ongoing presence of fake reviews online also tells us that reviews are a big part of the consumer decision-making process and underscores exactly how important they are for local SEO. As always in SEO, if someone’s trying to shortcut or cheat something, it tends to suggest that doing it properly is worth the effort. You can find our five-step guide to building your review profile the right way, here.

It’s fair to say that negative reviews are every business owner’s worst nightmare. When they’re fake, that feeling is magnified tenfold. Over and above reputational damage, fake reviews could – at least in the short term – give unscrupulous rivals a leg up.

There are plenty of reasons that you’ll want to remove both fake positive and negative reviews to protect your business, especially given how prolific they are becoming.

Let’s take a look at some eye-opening statistics from the 2026 survey that are sure to convince even the skeptics to take fake reviews seriously.

Consumers expect higher star ratings and recent reviews

In previous years, a 4.0-star rating was the gold standard. In 2026, the goalposts have moved significantly. 31% of consumers will now only use a business if it has 4.5 stars or more, a massive jump from just 17% in 2025. This star inflation puts immense pressure on businesses. When unscrupulous competitors use fake 5-star reviews to bypass this 4.5-star filter, honest businesses are pushed out of the “consideration set” entirely, even if their real-world service is better.

Fake reviews are often used to “plug the gap” when a business hasn’t received feedback in a while. However, the 2026 consumer is hyper-aware of dates. 32% of consumers now look for reviews written within the last two weeks, and 74% only care about reviews from the last three months.

Because recency is so vital, businesses that use bursts of fake reviews to look relevant are playing a dangerous game. Modern consumers see a dead profile as a red flag, but they see a sudden influx of generic, dated reviews as a sign of manipulation.

Consumers want real consequences for fake reviews

The most significant shift in 2026 is the public’s appetite for punishment. The days of “slap on the wrist” for faking it are over. 97% of consumers believe businesses should face punishment for fake reviews.

• 57% want fakers banned from review platforms.
• 46% want them removed from Google search results.
• 16% believe business owners should face criminal charges or jail time.

Now let’s take a look at more data from other field research. 

Reviews with repeated exclamation points are more likely to come from reviewers who have never made a purchase

According to research conducted by MIT, deceptive reviews (those submitted by consumers who actually haven’t made a purchase from the business being reviewed) have a tendency to use repeated exclamation points such as ‘!!’ and ‘!!!’ in the text of the review.

Use of exclamation points may not seem like a huge problem on the surface but delve a little deeper and it’s the connotation that becomes troubling. Multiple exclamation marks indicate a heightened emotion such as excitement or frustration. The use of multiple exclamation marks mimics colloquial syntax and grammar on social media and messaging apps. Add this to the indicated heightened emotions and there is the worrying prospect of consumers believing the fake review because it’s written in a style that the reader themselves also employs day to day.

Some business owners may not feel the impact of these deceptive reviews, given that their power to mislead consumers depends on the business’s own demographics. If your particular target market doesn’t employ similar styles on social media, you may not need to worry that your audience will be swayed.

Fake reviewers are much more likely to make specific requests to the seller or business

MIT researchers studying reviews without purchases discovered that those leaving a review without having made a purchase contain significantly more words and are much more likely to contain requests for the business such as ‘please’, ‘bring back’, ‘offer more’ and ‘go back to’.

This particular statistic can be quite problematic for those responsible for reputation management because it’s necessary to respond to detailed reviews – even if you’re sure it’s a fake review or that it has been left by someone who hasn’t made a purchase.

As review response speed and frequency is a local SEO ranking factor – and something that 89% of consumers will read – it’s still important to formulate a professional, courteous response. In his post, Google Business Profile gold product expert Ben Fisher recommends that you should still respond to show genuine consumers that you take all reviews seriously.

As with any response to a negative review, whether it’s true or false, it’s wise to demonstrate a willingness to fix the issue being raised. Invite the reviewer to get in touch privately, either by private message, email, or telephone to resolve the issue. In the case of a fake review, you obviously won’t hear from the reviewer but publicly, you have demonstrated you care about service levels, product quality, opportunities for improvement, and the customer experience.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) estimates fake reviews potentially influence £23bn of UK customer spending each year

The CMA has launched a program of work after a lengthy investigation into fake reviews determined that they potentially influence around £23 billion of UK consumer spending each year. It says millions of shoppers consult reviews online before booking holidays and buying products or services but found that some companies were buying reviews or paying third-party agencies to write fake reviews about products and services.

The 2008 Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations forbids this practice. The CMA says,

It is a banned practice to use editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear in the content or by images or sounds clearly identifiable by the consumer. It is also a banned practice to falsely claim or create the impression that a trader is not acting for purposes relating to his trade, business or profession, or to falsely represent oneself as a consumer.

The CMA says that the use of fake reviews is a concern due to the volume of adults relying on reviews to make purchase decisions and the amount of money at stake. Fake reviews also pose additional problems in that they mislead consumers to spend money with a business or on a product they may not have otherwise chosen. This could mean other businesses are losing out on revenue they may have earnt, had it not been for the fake or misleading reviews.

For some sectors, fake positive or fake malicious reviews have a bigger impact – findings from the CMA suggest small businesses in the hospitality sector in particular are badly affected by fake reviews.

Cherry-picking or suppressing negative reviews can also mislead consumers and affect the ultimate purchase choice.

One in seven TripAdvisor reviews could be fake

An investigation by the consumer group, Which? concluded that up to one in seven TripAdvisor reviews are fake. Its research determined that several top-rated hotels in ten top tourist cities bore the hallmarks of fake reviews, with those reviews then boosting rankings and pushing the hotels up into the list of the best in that region.

TripAdvisor confirmed that a number of the hotels under suspicion had previously been warned about the use of fake reviews. Which? said,

The 15 that looked most blatantly suspicious included some of the best-rated hotels in the Middle East, four of the best-rated hotels in Las Vegas, and one of the hotels in Britain’s second-biggest hotel chain, Travelodge. When we reported them to TripAdvisor, it admitted that 14 of them – 93% – had been caught with dodgy reviews in the past year.

As we saw from the CMA findings, small hospitality businesses are especially vulnerable to fake reviews. The use of fake reviews to boost TripAdvisor placement means that not only are travelers at risk of disappointing trips when selecting accommodation based on five-star TripAdvisor reviews and city ratings, but independent hoteliers not partaking in false reviews could be missing out on bookings and revenue, putting their businesses at risk.

Suspicious reviews can be reported to TripAdvisor – hallmarks of fake reviews include a large number of five-star reviews from users who have only submitted one review, and reviews from lots of users who haven’t reviewed other locations. Buying reviews, offering incentives for reviews or posting reviews for your own business are all against TripAdvisor review policies. Our guidelines for the top local review platforms including TripAdvisor can be found in our guide.

61% of electronics reviews on Amazon are fake

Research carried out by The Washington Post has determined that 61% of reviews for electronics on Amazon are fake. The fake reviews affect categories such as wireless Bluetooth headphones and Bluetooth speakers, though other categories such as testosterone pills and diet pills were also found to be impacted.

Analysis showed that 50.7% of reviews for the top 10 Bluetooth headphones were fake along with 55.6% of reviews for the top 10 weight loss tablets, 58.2% of Bluetooth speaker reviews and 67% of reviews for the leading testosterone products.

Amazon dominates the e-commerce industry, accounting for 54% of online sales and 5% of all US retail sales. It also handles 54% of product searches – making it even more powerful than Google for merchants. This proliferation of fake reviews is therefore all the more worrying, especially for retailers. The numbers alone suggest that there are serious benefits up for grabs from faking Amazon reviews.

As per the Washington Post analysis, the abundance of fake reviews artificially giving greater visibility to certain items without merit makes it very difficult to reach shoppers on Amazon without also engaging in fake reviews. One small business owner told The Washington Post fake reviews have a “devastating” effect because they “make it impossible to sell anything on Amazon if you play by the rules.”

While Amazon is primarily a B2C site, this underscores exactly what the business impact of fake reviews can be. With reviews important to Amazon rankings, having a process in place to acquire genuine reviews and build an authentic review profile is essential to prevent further decline in visibility.

54% of consumers would not buy a product if they suspected it to have fake reviews

So, by now, it should be pretty clear that fake reviews are a very real problem, but this statistic from Bazaarvoice shows that fake reviews could negatively impact your business, too.

It makes sense that consumers would be wary of fake reviews and would then project that mistrust onto the business or product, too. Not only does this mean that you should by absolutely no means purchase fake reviews or get involved in review schemes, but (arguably more importantly) you need to show consumers that you can be trusted!

If your reviews look at all suspect, you could risk missing out on 50% of customers. That means getting a steady stream of detailed reviews should be a priority for you. To ensure searchers can tell your reviews are authentic, consider offering your customers some prompt questions so that when they review you it really reflects the experience they’ve had with your business.

For example, if you run a pizza restaurant, consider asking your customers what their favorite topping you offer is, what kind of vibe the restaurant suits, how they find the menu price points, and so on.

We’ve established that consumers can struggle to spot fake reviews, so make sure your business doesn’t send the wrong signals!

Conclusion

Consumer trust in online reviews is at an all-time high. They are a vital tool in the decision making process with a strong review profile having clear financial benefits for local businesses. Reviews are now so important, both to sales and to SEO, that fake reviews are becoming more prevalent. This raises several issues for businesses and consumers alike, with consumers increasingly likely to be faced with fake reviews and businesses increasingly being placed at a disadvantage if they don’t join unscrupulous competitors in buying or faking reviews to win visibility on review platforms and e-commerce sites.

However, as the research above shows, there is a concerted effort being made by consumer groups, journalists and government bodies to crack down on fake reviews, so any investment in fake reviews is likely to backfire sooner rather than later. Do the right thing: generate reviews in a natural way and you’ll be rewarded.

The problem is that some companies resort to using fake reviews in order to get an unfair advantage over their rivals. 

According to our 2022 research, 62% of consumers have seen a fake review in the last year. With 77% of consumers always or regularly reading online reviews for local businesses, and around 50% of consumers trusting reviews as much as personal recommendations, the proliferation of fake reviews can be worrisome.  

How important are Google reviews? 

Google’s importance as a review platform continues to grow, meaning fake Google reviews are likely to be of particular concern to most small businesses. 

Not only is Google a major source of search traffic, visibility, and business, but it’s also the one referenced the most by consumers, with 71% of consumers turning to Google to evaluate local businesses in 2026. Therefore, any fake reviews on Google could be especially damaging.

Additionally, Google is the fastest-growing review platform, accruing more new reviews at a much faster rate than rivals, such as Facebook and Yelp. Again, this could be troubling for small businesses dealing with fake Google reviews simply due to the sheer volume of reviews being added to the platform on a daily basis. 

Having a review management tool can be helpful when it comes to keeping up to date with new Google reviews, so fake or malicious ones aren’t missed. 

Google reviews are also known to be a local search ranking factor and can impact where your business places in the search results. This is significant as an onslaught of poor-quality fake reviews could hinder your search visibility and ability to win new business. 

Can you get Google reviews removed?

Reviews that violate Google’s policies can be removed. A tool called Managing Your Reviews is available to flag up offending reviews, request their removal, and monitor the status of the request. You just have to search for your business profile and click ‘Report a new review for removal’ to get started.

Why are fake Google reviews a particular concern? 

It’s important to know how to remove fake Google reviews because of one concerning detail — anyone can leave malicious feedback and it will appear on your profile immediately for all Google users to see. 

The problem is that removing the review isn’t instant, so you’ll need to go through Google to request the removal. In the meantime, as your request works its way through the system, the fake feedback could be damaging your reputation. 

How do I complain about fake Google reviews?

You’ll need to go through Google to complain about fake reviews. You can flag an offending review directly on Google search by locating it and then clicking on the three dots to the right, where you’ll see an option to report it. 

You can also flag a review for removal from your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) dashboard. Just locate the review, click on the three dots, and flag it as inappropriate. 

Another option for Google review reporting is to use the Managing Your Reviews tool. 

Before you report fake comments to Google, it’s worth gathering as much information as you can to back up your claim. Look out for obvious signs that the feedback is fake, such as if the reviewer references people who don’t work at your business or products or services you don’t sell. If possible, cross-reference the date and time of the review with your own records. Lots of spelling mistakes, a one-star rating with no comment, irrelevant details, a lack of knowledge about the product or service, and incoherent text all point to a fake.

You can also check the content of the review against the guidelines for Google reviews to ensure the comments you’ve identified as fake fall into one of the violations. This could be the case if the comments contain offensive content, are attempting to impersonate someone else, contain explicit content, are off-topic, or are promotional in nature with an email address, phone number, or other solicitation.

How do I report a business for fake reviews? 

If you suspect that a competitor is using fake reviews to bolster its review profile, you can make a report by flagging the review in the search results. Simply navigate to the fake review, click the three dots at the side, and then click on ‘Report Review’. Google might then consider removing it.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t be doing this simply to bolster your own Google presence. It should be reserved for those times when you’re certain a review is fake. All submissions will be reviewed by Google but it’s not a given that flagging a review will lead to its removal. A better tactic to enhance your search visibility is to focus on boosting your own online presence with a strong review generation strategy.   

A Step-by-step Guide to Reporting Fake Google Reviews

Step 1: Consider Responding

Before you get into the process of reporting fake Google reviews, it’s worth responding to the review first. This is important because fake reviews can take a while to be assessed by Google and removed. In the meantime, the potentially damaging feedback will be publicly visible, so a response can help to limit its impact. 

In the event that you can’t get the fake review removed, your response demonstrates to your customers and prospective clients that you care, that you’re dedicated to resolving complaints, and that you take feedback seriously. Use our tips for responding to negative reviews to always leave a calm, measured, and professional response.

Step 2: Flag the Review to Google on Desktop

With your response left, you can now report the fake feedback to Google.

To do this on desktop, bring up the review and click on the flag at the side.

Step 3: Be Prepared for a Follow Up

Google may contact you to get more details about your complaint. You can prepare for this follow-up while you’re waiting for Google to remove the fake review, just in case they do get in touch.

First, document the URL of the review. To do this, click on the name of the user that left the comment, then select the review itself, and when you only see your review under the person’s name, copy the URL. You’ll need this in order to get support from Google later.

Prepare the following information:

1. Your business name, address, phone number, website URL, and Google Maps link. 
2. State why the review should be removed 
3. State which of the policies you feel is being violated
4. State why you feel it’s a fake review
5. Prepare any documentation that supports your claim

Step 4: Get in Touch with Google

If you’ve not heard anything after a few days, you can reach out to Google. Try sending the Google Business team a message or tweet them on Twitter. Alternatively, click on the support icon in your GBP dashboard and tell Google what you need help with. You’ll then be presented with the appropriate contact information for your query. 

Step 5: Keep Track of Your Removal Request Status

I talked above about Google’s ‘Managing Your Reviews‘ tool, and how you can use it to flag up offending reviews, request their removal, and monitor the status of the request.

This is a great way to start the removal process, but it really comes into its own when you know the request has been received and you’re hoping to understand what the status is.

Examples of statuses include:

• Report reviewed – no policy violation
• Escalated – Check email for updates
• Review removed
• Decision pending

This workflow is invaluable for understanding where your review request is, which is particularly useful if you have clients hoping for more information on something that’s ultimately out of your control.

Step 5a: If Applicable, Appeal the Decision

Google doesn’t give you a lot of opportunity to comment on why a review breaks their guidelines, so you might find a status of ‘Report reviewed – no policy violation’ against a review that quite clearly and objectively does violate policy (here’s a really good example of this frustrating activity in action).

It’s at times like these that Google just needs a bit more information, and a nudge to set them on the right track. At the bottom of the ‘Managing Your Reviews’ tool, you’ll see an option to ‘Appeal eligible reviews’. Click that and fill out the following form to raise an appeal with Google against the decision. This will open a Google support ticket—make sure you write down the Case ID you receive.

Within a few days, you should get an email from Google’s support team with their decision. Still not happy with the response? Time to take your Case ID to the Google Business Profile Community forum and put your case in front of an expert, who can hopefully raise the issue with Google and get a resolution.

But what if it’s a lie?

Fake reviews are a fact of life for review platforms, despite efforts to curb the number of fakes and push down their visibility. An economic analysis estimates that review fraud causes approximately $300 billion in consumer harm annually just in the home services, legal, and medical sectors. Given that reviews not only influence consumers and sales figures but also search and AI engines, it’s no surprise that they’re big business. 

In response to growing concerns, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned the buying and selling of fake reviews in October 2024. Rule breakers can now be fined up to $51,744 per violation, aiming to protect consumers and bring back fair competition in the marketplace.

But even despite the ban, it’s not as straightforward as you’d think to remove fake reviews from Yelp. Let’s walk through how to get them gone. 

Why a business may want to remove a bad review

Whether a review is a fair assessment of a customer’s experience or not, any poor review is potentially problematic because peer feedback is so intrinsic to the modern decision-making process. 

Today’s consumers use reviews to:

• Create shortlists of businesses to buy from
• Compare and contrast potential product/service providers
• Decide between businesses offering the same thing
• Weed out businesses that may provide a disappointing experience

In the Local Consumer Review Survey, BrightLocal found that 31% of consumers will only use a business that has 4.5+ stars.

Removing fake or malicious reviews from Yelp can, therefore, have a very tangible real-world impact. If left untreated, fake reviews with low star ratings can lower the overall average star rating.

Fake reviews vs. negative reviews

Don’t jump to the conclusion that every bad review is fake. Fake reviews are dishonest, written by someone who hasn’t actually used your business, or is trying to unfairly boost or damage your reputation. They often feel vague or overly dramatic.

Negative reviews come from real customers. They may be critical, but really, they can be helpful by showing where you can improve. By responding professionally, they also give you the opportunity to make amends and even share your side of the story with those reading your reviews.

While there are processes in place for removing fake reviews, Yelp doesn’t let businesses delete negative reviews. If a reviewer tries to remove one, Yelp asks why and tries to discourage the deletion of the review.

While it may be annoying to have negative (but factual) reviews on your Yelp profile, focus on how you can explain and improve your experience based on the feedback, rather than spending energy trying to get them removed.

How does Yelp handle fake reviews?

Yelp says that it’s a “community-driven site” and doesn’t take the removal of third-party content, such as images or reviews, lightly. It also says it won’t take sides in factual disputes. 

However, Yelp has very strict guidelines on incentivizing reviews, whether that’s buying fake reviews by the dozen or just asking happy customers for reviews. 

As part of its drive for fairness, Yelp has invested in a number of programs to weed out compensated and fake reviews, in line with UK and US legislation: 

Consumer Alerts 

Profiles suspected of benefiting from fake or paid reviews may have a Consumer Alerts pop-up applied. The pop-up warns users that abnormal activity—which may be an attempt to mislead them—has been detected on the profile in question after a review of available evidence. 

Alerts may tell consumers that there’s evidence of suspicious review activity or evidence of compensated reviews. 

Picture credit: Yelp

Picture credit: Yelp

Yelp displays all of the businesses it catches paying for or incentivizing reviews on its Consumer Alerts wall of shame (or Previous Compensated & Suspicious Review Activity Alerts, to give it its proper name), complete with screenshot evidence of the infraction. You don’t want to end up there! 

Recommendation Software 

Yelp’s Recommendation Software evaluates each review left for a business profile. It analyzes billions of data points to identify the most helpful reviews and then recommends those to users. This means fake reviews could lack visibility.

Human moderators

Yelp also has a team of human moderators who review potential issues flagged up by business owners, community users, or its own automated systems.

Yelp says it also monitors other platforms and the dark web for shady review behavior. In 2024, Yelp submitted more than 900 reports to sites, including Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn, warning of suspicious groups, posts, and individuals attempting to pay or trade for reviews.

How do I remove fake Yelp reviews?

Getting Yelp reviews removed is not a cut-and-dried process. A good strategy is to approach the review as genuine, while also looking for any evidence that it’s fake or malicious.

1. Responding to bad Yelp reviews

The temptation will be to rush in quickly with a strongly worded reply. Resist that urge!

Poorly-worded review responses can quickly create a negative impression of your business and put other customers off. In the worst-case scenario, they could also go viral, creating exactly the kind of publicity you don’t want for your business.

You’ll need to keep a cool head and show that you’ve tried addressing the bad review in a constructive and professional way.

• If you have a record of that customer, try connecting with them offline to fully understand the issues that led to the poor review.
• If you can’t find contact information, leave a (very) polite reply thanking the customer for their feedback, assure them that you wish to investigate further, and invite them to reach out so that you can work towards a resolution. 

For a genuinely negative experience, you should impress the reviewer with your commitment to putting things right, allowing you to ask them to update (or even delete) the original review to give a more balanced opinion. 

We’ve put together an article on dealing with negative reviews like a pro.

2. Deleting a malicious Yelp review

If the above fact-finding mission fails, then take comfort in knowing you’re now in a stronger position to report the review to Yelp as being false, defamatory, or malicious in nature.

Yelp has clear guidelines governing reviews left on the site. It specifies that reviews:

• Should be factually correct
• Should be based on the reviewer’s own first-hand experience
• Shouldn’t be based on old brand interactions
• Shouldn’t be promotional
• Shouldn’t represent a conflict of interest (for example, leaving a positive review for a friend’s business or a negative review of a competitor)
• Shouldn’t be exchanged for payment

Start with ‘Should be factually correct’. Collate as much information from your business records as you can, including your documented attempts to address their concerns as genuine.

See if you can prove that the review has a clear conflict of interest, such as a review left by a disgruntled former employee or a competitor.

Highlight any examples of inappropriate material, such as threats, hate speech, or harassment—either in the original review or in subsequent communications.

3. Report the fake review to Yelp 

As noted above, fake reviews are big business in some corners of the internet, and they’re a pain to investigate if there’s no genuine information to cross-reference within your business.

Instead, make a strong case for removal by gathering evidence to present to Yelp:

1. Dig into your client records to verify that they’re not a genuine customer. This shows that they’re in violation of Yelp’s requirement that all reviews relate to that person’s own experience of your business.
2. Take a look at how many other reviews that person has left and for what businesses. A brand-new account with just your review is a strong indicator that it’s fake. 
3. Study the language and tone of the review. Is this mirrored on other reviews posted at the same time? If so, it could be a part of a wider fake review campaign. 
4. Check if you have a series of other bad reviews posted at the same time but by different usernames. This is a common tactic used by fake review spammers.

You’ll need to make sure you’re spotting fake and negative reviews quickly, as these could sway the opinion of potential customers if you’re too slow to respond or remove them. Keep a close eye on your Yelp listing, or invest in Reputation Management software to flag these up to you immediately if there’s a chance a damaging review may slip through the net. 

Spotting fake Yelp reviews on competitors’ pages

Fake reviews aren’t just a problem on your own Yelp page. Sometimes, you may suspect competitors of using fake reviews to make their business look better on Yelp.

If you spot a review on a competitor’s page that seems fake, you can report it:

1. Go to the review on Yelp.
2. Click the three dots next to the review.
3. Select “Report Review” and explain why it seems fraudulent.

Yelp will investigate against their Content Guidelines and Terms of Service and take action if necessary. Of course, it’s much harder to provide proof than if it’s your own business, but Yelp may be able to spot suspicious behavior and take down the fraudulent reviews.

How to submit a fake reviews report to Yelp

With your evidence gathered, you can now go ahead and submit a request for the offending review to be reviewed by the Yelp moderators.

Step 1: Claim your Yelp business profile

If you’ve not done so already, then the first step in removing Yelp reviews is to claim your business profile.

This is easy to do—go to Yelp For Business and follow the steps outlined. This blog post also provides more detailed instructions if you need help with this essential step.

Step 2: Log in and find the review

Log in to your Yelp business account. From your dashboard, navigate to ‘Reviews’ and then scroll down to find the review you’re asking Yelp to remove.

Step 3: Go to the ‘Report Review’ button

You’ll see three dots to the side of the review text. Click on those dots to pull up a menu and select ‘Report Review’.

Step 4: Complete the form

Select the most appropriate reason for requesting the Yelp review removal and complete the form with as much information as possible. It will then be reviewed by the moderators.

Step 5: Be patient!

Now comes the hard part…the wait! Yelp will inform you of the outcome of the investigation. In the event that the Yelp review is removed, the original author will also be informed.

This process can take several days, but either way, you should be notified of the result. In the meantime, you can hover over the flag icon next to the review to see the status of your report. If you don’t hear anything after a week or two, then contact Yelp directly with your case number to try and secure an update.

What if the review isn’t removed?

Yelp may not uphold your complaint. If that’s the case, the review will remain on your profile. You can try appealing, but you may still be out of luck. 

While this is frustrating, your best course of action is to calmly and professionally respond to the review. Don’t make any big accusations about its legitimacy, but think carefully about how you can show readers that it’s unlikely to be from a real customer.

For more guidance on handling reviews and turning feedback into growth, check out our complete guide to online review management. It’s full of tips, strategies, and templates to help you build positive reviews and strengthen your reputation.